Electrical connectors are used to form electrical connections between a circuit board having a high density of electrical contacts and another electrical component. The contacts are arranged in a series of rows and columns in a contact field on one side of the circuit board. The contacts are closely spaced together and a large number of contacts are included in a relatively small area.
Electrical connectors having a flexible circuit that interconnects the circuit board with the other electrical component have been developed. The flexible circuit includes a contact field having contacts arranged in rows and columns corresponding to the rows and columns of contacts on the circuit board. The flexible circuit is mounted on a clamp member on the opposite side of the flexible circuit from the contacts. The clamp member carries an elastomeric spring that faces the flexible circuit.
To connect the electrical connector to the circuit board, the clamp member is placed adjacent to the circuit board. The clamp member is then moved to position the contact field of the flexible circuit directly over the contact field of the circuit board. The clamp member is pressed against the circuit board and fastened against the circuit board by threaded fasteners inserted through the clamp member and circuit board. The fasteners are tightened using screwdrivers or other tools to clamp the clamp member against the circuit board and compress the spring between the clamp member and the flexible circuit. The compressed spring generates a spring force pressing the flexible circuit contacts against the circuit board contacts, electrically interconnecting the contacts fields.
Circuit boards may be installed in systems that do not permit the use of tools or loose fasteners when servicing system components because the risk of damage is too high. The tool or fastener may inadvertently damage a contact field on the flexible circuit or on the circuit board, or may inadvertently damage other components of the system.
Yet electrical connectors must often be detached from circuit boards to service the system, and then reattached to the circuit boards. It would be desirable to provide an electrical connector with a flexible circuit that can be detached from a circuit board and then reattached without the need of tools or loose fasteners.
Furthermore, the contacts on the flexible circuit and on the circuit board can be damaged while the flexible circuit is being attached to or detached from the circuit board. Dragging the contact field of the flexible circuit against the contact field of the circuit board while connecting or disconnecting the electrical connector may damage some of the contacts. The contacts may be damaged to such an extent that they cannot form electrical connections.
Thus there is a need for an improved electrical connector having a flexible circuit that can be attached to and detached from a circuit board without tools and without loose fasteners. The electrical connector should resist inadvertent contact between the contacts of the flexible circuit and the contacts of the circuit board while connecting or disconnecting the electrical connector and circuit board.